Photo Vignettes From Day One

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, the exhibit hall is larger this year than last. Actually, it seems that it’s two exhibit halls laid out as one, but with a big chunk out of the middle. There is a lot to cover and I only got to cover about half of it yesterday. Today was devoted to the Self Care for Shooters class that Ambulance Driver put together and he and a small group of us taught. Which is why there won’t be any pictures from today’s short visit to the exhibit hall. That and the fact that it was so crowded that there wasn’t even room to fall over if someone passed out.

On with the pictures from yesterdays visit. In no particular order,

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I’m not really a 1911 guy, but I do appreciate the virtues of the design. If I were to buy one, this would probably be it, the Colt Defender. Compact for concealed carry, not overly heavy, points well, trigger pull is good. Not custom made up to Old NFO standards good, but good. I forget the price, but since it’s a Colt, not cheap would be my thought. However people will pay for quality, which I wish the nice people over at Smith & Wesson would remember. While I know they are making money on their 1911 guns, there are a number of us who wish they’d bring their all metal line of semi automatic handguns back. Or at least keep producing repair and maintenance parts for those of us who prefer that over the M&P polymer frame guns that S&W currently makes.

The gun pictured is in .45ACP, but I’m told it also comes in 9mm.

From the “I can dream, can’t I?” department comes this, also from Colt. A modern production Gatling Gun made from the original drawings, maybe even in the same buildings. Last time I checked, these were going for around $50,000.00 per unit. Add another $50,000.000 for enough .45-70 ammunition to keep it running for a while and it’s an expensive proposition. Which you could probably offset by charging people to shoot it. It’s not a machine gun, so no special permission slip from the BATFE to own or shoot it. The people who run your local gun club might have other ideas, but if you have enough money to buy this, you can probably build your own gun club and not let those party poopers join.

It’s beautiful craftsmanship of a type that used to be common, but it rare these days.

From the other end of the spectrum, not that their is a problem with their craftsmanship,

From SCCY out of Florida, a double stack 10 round 9mm semi automatic pistol. Polymer frame, in two colors for now. Internal hammer, double action only, not striker fired. The representative said that they can make the frame in just about any color if there is demand. It felt pretty good holding it, but of course shooting it would be better. If you live in California, Massachusetts, or one of the other states that has some sort of approval process for firearms that manufacturers want to sell in your states, you are likely out of luck as the representative wasn’t aware of any plans to make state specific versions. The retail is $319.99, so the actual price will likely be less. At single stack .380 version is in the works.

The representative said that they have a no questions asked lifetime warranty. They will fix it or replace it if anything goes wrong. That includes theft, which really is different.

From Ergo Grip is the new Delta Grip. Previewed at last year’s show, it’s finally in production and available for purchase. Not pretty, but functional. It’s designed to make aiming easier and reduce felt recoil on S&W J frame pistols. Retail price is $19.95 and they will be available from Ergo Grips, Brownells, Midway USA, and soon Optics Planet. I hope to have one soon to try out and will blog the results of my tests.

Women, especially young women, are the fastest growing segment of the shooting sports. Mostly for the same reasons that men enjoy shooting, with an added interest in personal defense. For those who haven’t noticed, women are built somewhat different than men and need different concealed options. One of the more popular options are concealed carry purses and similar items. This wallet/clutch purse is from Concealed Carrie. This is just one of the items they offer. One side is a wallet for the typical wallet stuff, and the other is a concealed carry compartment. They have a holsters to fit a variety of different firearms that attach to the velcro strips.

This is a different option, although I’m not sure how popular it will ultimately be. A holster concealed in a bra.

When I get home, I’ll show this picture to Mrs. EMS Artifact and get her input.

I hope that the Glockophiles in my readership won’t be offended, but “History of Glock”? I have revolvers that are older than this company. And probably better made for that matter. Although I can say the same about some products from well established manufacturers as well.

This just struck me as, uh, wrong.

From the Space Balls files; “Moichandising, moichandising, moichandising.” The recent kerfluffle over the comments made by Phil don’t seem to have hurt the sales of trinkets by the Duck Dynasty merchandizing machine. Not that there’s anything wrong with it.

More tomorrow, now I’m off to the gun blogger meet to be with all of the cool kids.

Thank you for the comment. I’d like to try one out at some point. I have to say that when I held one of them it felt pretty well made and the cycling the slide was easy. The trigger feel was certainly OK. Another point I forgot to mention was that it’s a true double action with a concealed hammer. Unlike striker fired pistols you can pull the trigger a second time without having to cycle the slide. I like that feature.

Just at first glance, I’d say Ix-nay on the bra holster, thanks. It looks hard to get to without signalling to G-d and the bad guys both that “hey! I’ve got something under here besides you-know-what,” and trying to draw without pointing the muzzle at your own chest could be a real challenge (depending on the retention mechanism and removal technique.)

That and I can imagine the confusion at the lacy-stuff store: “Hi, I’m a 36B J-frame. Underwire, wide strap, please.”

I was speaking with a fellow blogger, who is a real live woman, and she said that they actually work pretty well. I don’t know that most women would wear them on a regular basis, but they are an option for some.

The bra holster actually works great for most women. However, there are some of us who are, shall we say, less than blessed so they really don’t conceal as well as make us look like a side-show exhibit.

All About Me

After a long career as a field EMS provider, I'm now doing all that back office stuff I used to laugh at. Life is full of ironies, isn't it?
I still live in the Northeast corner of the United States, although I hope to change that to another part of the country more in tune with my values and beliefs.
I still write about EMS, but I'm adding more and more non EMS subject matter.
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